1967-1969 Plymouth Barracuda 383/440

Barracuda became a Plymouth
series all its own in 1967. It marked the occasion with a two-inch wheelbase
stretch, to 108, and with the addition of a two-door hardtop and convertible to
go along with its fastback body style.

Any resemblance to the Valiant was gone.
The styling was more rounded than anything else in the Chrysler line, and the
new hardtop was especially continental in flavor. Along with the new body came
an engine bay wider by two inches. That was a clue to what Plymouth had in mind for this second-generation
Barracuda.

The 1967 Plymouth Barracuda’s engine bay was widened by two inches, making rooom to fit the big 383- and 440-cid engines.

The base ’67 Barracudas were equipped with the familiar
MoPar slant six engine, while both 273 cubic-inch V-8s remained options. But Plymouth had tracked the
performance winds and found them blowing toward more cubic inches. The
automaker had apparently intended to offer a fortified version of its
318-cubic-inch V-8 in the ’67 Barracuda. But it learned that Mustang would be
available with a 390 V-8 for ’67, the Chevy Camaro with a 396, and the Pontiac
Firebird a 400.

Plymouth
responded by shoehorning in the 383-cubic-inch B-Wedge V-8. With its single
Carter AFB four-barrel and 10.0:1 compression ratio, it was good for 280
horsepower. The 383 was optional only in the top-of-the-line fastback Formula S
Barracuda, and brought as standard a four-speed manual transmission;
TorqueFlite was optional. The only axle ratio available with the 383 was a
3.23:1.

Like its predecessors, the ’67 Barracuda had front
torsion-bar and rear leaf-spring suspension, and four-wheel drum brakes. The
firm-riding Formula S package included front disc brakes as well as bigger
D70x14 tires.

What couldn’t be fitted, as it turned out, was something the 383
Barracuda desperately needed: power steering. The 383 engine’s exhaust headers
occupied the space normally filled by the power steering pump. Trying to park a
nose-heavy 383 Barracuda with the standard manual steering was “like trying to
dock the Queen Mary,” moaned Car and Driver.

Customers found enough to like, however, and Barracuda sales
increased sharply for ’67. Some 94 percent of the 62,534 production total was
split about evenly between the fastback and the new hardtop. The new
convertible accounted for the balance, with 4228 built.